Transport for London must do more to improve the safety of the capital’s bus network which has seen 25 people killed on or by buses in the last two years, the London Assembly Transport Committee says.

 

Its report ‘Driven to Distraction’ says that injury and collision rates on London’s buses are not improving and may actually be getting worse. In 2015, 5700 people were injured either on board or in incidents with buses. This rose to 6100 last year.

 

The report points to Transport for London's focus on journey time reliability as a factor in the growing number of incidents. Its current contracts incentivise operators to meet bus reliability targets, but there are currently no safety targets, the Transport Committee claims.

 

Furthermore it highlights that high levels of stress and fatigue are reported among bus drivers as a result of long shifts, inadequate breaks and irregular shift patterns. The job also involves frequent distractions from the control centre and from passengers.

 

“Bus drivers exist in a pressure cooker situation, with competition for road space and a focus on making buses run on time, which has created a stressful and tiring working culture for drivers,” commented deputy chair of the committee Caroline Pidgeon.

 

“Driving on London’s roads requires intense concentration. Especially when manoeuvring a 12t vehicle around pedestrians, buggies, cyclists and more – with up to 87 passengers on board and numerous distractions.

 

“TfL needs to review the way it awards contracts to bus operators and ensure it puts safety as a priority, instead of punctuality.”

 

The report recommends that TfL should set out safety targets for bus operators as quickly as possible says a comprehensive and independent investigation of drivers’ working conditions should be undertaken.

 

It adds that work should also be taken forward to reduce the number of distractions facing drivers, which could include a review of best practice for bus infrastructure and design. TfL should also take responsibly for delivering driver safety training, the report says.

 

TfL’s managing director of surface transport Leon Daniels said: “We welcome the highly constructive ideas in this report, and will take every action we can to bring about further rapid improvements in bus safety.

 

“Our Bus Safety Programme is one element in a completely new approach to reducing the unacceptably high number of people killed or hurt on the bus network. Action includes better driver training, new technology to limit bus speeds, redesign of buses themselves and proactive analysis of data to understand trends and target intervention.”

 

The Mayor’s draft Transport Strategy proposes bus safety targets for the first time, with the ultimate aim of eliminating bus fatalities by 2030.

 

(Photo: Alastair Lloyd)